From the SB Trib:
Recruiting strategy
With Notre Dame having already received 19 verbal commitments for its 2008 recruiting class, the Irish coaching staff may not have a lot of work to do to finish out the class, but certainly needs to apply some strategy in order to secure the best six players still on the board.
"Philosophically, coach Weis is not offering (scholarships) to anybody unless we want them to come to school here," said Ianello, also ND's recruiting coordinator. "We're not one of those schools with blanket offers to a bunch of kids in hopes some do and some don't (accept).
"We'll circle the wagons of the guys that we want to have come here that haven't made their decisions and see how we come out."
Ianello says the Internet has as much to do as anything with the barrage of early commitments, not only at ND but nationally.
"There's so much information flowing there, young guys are thinking they have to decide earlier," he said. "Johnny knows Jimmy has a scholarship offer from State U., so 'I might want to take it before he does.' All that kind of information has kind of accelerated the process.
"Somebody in the media asked me, 'Is it hard to keep up with the Joneses?' Well at some point we're going to be the Joneses."
That Urban smog can really put a tickle in your throat.